


i feel i love you

by kangbora (ohfiitz)



Category: Day6 (Band), Dreamcatcher (Korea Band)
Genre: F/M, One Night Stands, inspired by jazz bar by dreamcatcher, ish???, jazz bar au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-29
Updated: 2020-02-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:14:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22956226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohfiitz/pseuds/kangbora
Summary: She’s a replacement jazz singer who’s used to merely passing through other people’s lives. He’s a lonely soul trying to get over a heartbreak by drowning himself in music and alcohol. This is what happens when they cross paths.
Relationships: Kang Younghyun | Young K/Kim Bora | SuA
Comments: 1
Kudos: 13





	i feel i love you

_The greatest thing you’ll ever learn_  
 _Is just to love  
_ _And be loved in return_

_(Nature Boy, Nat King Cole)_

\- + -

Getting laid was never one of Bora’s motivations for accepting this gig. Sure, she’s not one to say no to a casual fuck every now and then, but it’s also not like she actively seeks it. She only agreed to be a temporary replacement for Siyeon because the latter has always been one of her favorite seniors and, well, a job is a job, and for professional musicians like Bora, even a temp job like this can help a lot in getting her through for several weeks.

But anyway. Getting laid was never one of her main concerns, but then there was him.

Bora first noticed him on her third night. Mainly because it was a slow business day and he was the only patron for the first hour of her shift, so she didn’t really have a choice but to look at him. He was perched on the farther side of the bar, nursing what looked like a neat pour of whiskey, and he looked… pensive. And handsome, quite frankly, in the ‘brooding male lead in a romantic movie’ kind of way. But then again, most of their patrons were attractive young men, so she didn’t really make a big deal out of it.

After that night, however, she noticed that the guy is actually one of their regulars. He comes through the door at the exact same time almost every night, takes his spot at the far end of the bar, sips his usual glass of whiskey. Bora also began to notice the way he watches her. She’s used to being watched, for sure, but this guy looks at her with such sad eyes that makes her feel like she’s wronged him, in a way; like he’s hurting and she’s the cause of it and it makes her feel both uncomfortable and turned on at the same time.

So really, who can blame her for stepping down from the stage one night after her set, strutting straight to his place at the bar, and asking if was interested in having sex? She is, after all, a grown ass woman with an active libido, and she hasn’t gotten laid in quite a while so really, it shouldn’t be such a surprise that she’s doing this.

Except, of course, it is.

Getting laid was never Younghyun’s intention. Far from it. In fact, it was probably the last thing on his mind when he started this habit of going to the same jazz bar every night. It just so happened that he had a greater need for alcohol than usual and the bar was the only nearby place that: a.) was actually quiet enough to let him drown in his misery in peace, and b.) was 100% surely not in the list of places frequented by the very source of said misery. It was simply a practical choice, that’s all. So when the jazz singer, a long-haired girl of small statute but with a very strong presence to make up for it, approaches him one night and straight up propositions him, Younghyun is taken aback. He almost laughs at the absurdity of it, if not for the fact that that the woman is looking at him directly in the eye and doesn’t seem the least bit like she’s joking.

“Sorry, no. I don’t really… I’m not really interested,” Younghyun answers in an instant, not having the chance to worry if he’s being rude or not; and frankly, he doesn’t know if he even cares.

The woman fires back an equally snappy agreement. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

She shrugs and takes a sip of her martini. “Sure. It’s just sex, and it wouldn’t be as good if you’re not super into it, anyway, so…” She lets the sentence drag on and shrugs again. “I’m Bora, by the way.”

Looking back on it now, he doesn’t know what does it. Maybe it’s the nonchalance by which she dismisses it, or the warm, smoky lighting that makes her look like some mysterious seductress in a noir film, or the fact that he’s had a few cocktails too many– but something about the woman makes him feel like making stupid, reckless decisions, starting from telling her his name. Which he does.

“Younghyun.”

“Younghyun,” she repeats, testing the name on her tongue with a silvery tone, and Younghyun thinks it’s the most melodic his name has ever sounded. “So, Younghyun, you going through a breakup or something?”

He almost spits out his drink, which is met with a rather boisterous laughter from Bora, and Younghyun wonders how even her laughter can sound like music to his ears. _Do all singers laugh like this?_

“Don’t be so surprised,” she says, patting his back. “Most of those who come to jazz bars regularly are either heartbroken people or old men who don’t want to come home to their wives, and, no offense, but you don’t really seem like husband material to me.”

Now it’s Younghyun’s turn to laugh. “Yeah, it’s not the first time I’ve been told that,” he says through chuckles. “Thanks for making me laugh, though.”

Bora hums in acknowledgment, and the two sit together in silence for a few minutes until she’s called for another set. He sits through that set, too, watching her intently as she sings _Nature Boy_ (one of his favorites) and it suddenly clicks why he keeps coming back to this place. It’s not just the practicality of it; it’s her – the tiny girl with the velvety voice, whose runs and scats and soft, low hums perfectly complement the effects of alcohol in his system. For the first time in a good long while, he feels light. Unburdened. The ache is still there, for sure, but now it feels like this woman and her voice and her surprising display of bravery has made a dent in it and the light is starting find its way through the cracks. He stays until the end of her shift and offers her a cigarette.

And that’s how it starts, this strange, unexpected friendship between a fill-in singer and a lonely man in a bar. And yet somehow, it works. They talk and drink and smoke and laugh and stay silent together and at some point, it all melds into a rhythm all their own, and it works.

It goes on like this for a few weeks. She sings. He drinks. He waits for her as the bar closes and they end the night smoking two sticks each. Until one night she pulls him aside with an apologetic smile and says, “It’s my last night here, so you probably won’t be seeing me around after tonight.”

Younghyun feels a sudden panic in his chest. Of course, he knew she wouldn’t be singing in the bar for long, but he had no idea she was leaving so soon. “Wait… what? How? I mean… why?”

“The singer I’m pinch-hitting for is coming back from her leave, so…” _Shrug._ He hates it when she does that.

“Where are you going, then?”

She takes a puff of her cigarette and lets out a long sigh, and for a moment Younghyun thinks he sees sadness in her eyes. He never imagined sadness and Kim Bora would ever go together. “Dunno. Just gonna let life happen and see where it takes me next, I suppose,” Bora responds after a few seconds.

“I wish I had that kind of ballsy attitude,” Younghyun says softly, wistfully. He’s been doing so much better the past few days, so much so that he doesn’t even need that much alcohol anymore to feel okay. Maybe it’s just the heartbreak running its natural course. Maybe it’s because Bora’s clipped laughter and Bora’s corny jokes and Bora’s overall brightness are intoxicating enough. And now that she’s leaving, he suddenly doesn’t know how and where to start again. 

She takes his hand and smiles like she understands the meaning beneath his simple statement. “Life has a way of sorting itself out, Younghyun. You just need to let it.”

So he does.

Younghyun pulls Bora by the waist and kisses her, hard, cold lips pressing assertively and tenderly all at once, and she squeaks softly in response. Her short fingers find their way to his coat collar as she returns the kiss, leaning up on her tip toes and tilting her head just right to slot her lips firmly against his.

The kiss is unhurried but passionate, and it surprises them both, how easy and familiar it feels. They quickly fall into a rhythm, hands wandering, tongues teasing, lips dancing with each other with both the familiarity of an old couple and the newness of a first “hello” between strangers. He tastes menthol on her tongue and it makes him feel more than a little bit heady.

“What are you doing?” Bora asks when Younghyun stops to catch his breath, her fists still clutching his collar.

“Letting life happen,” Younghyun answers with a smirk before kissing her again, pulling away just as her tongue makes the first swipe across his bottom lip. “Come home with me.” It’s a command more than a request. Bora’s eyes are lidded and glassy as she nods, and the next thing Younghyun knows, she’s pulling him towards a taxi cab.

They stumble into Younghyun’s apartment in a messy tangle of kisses, with Bora practically ripping off Younghyun’s coat as soon as they get through the door.

“Off,” Bora orders, clumsily starting on the buttons of his white shirt, and he swiftly complies.

She chuckles and wraps her arms around his neck. “Good boy,” she whispers, pressing her lips against his ear, and Younghyun feels a new kind of warmth run down his spine. She trails kisses downwards and sucks a mark right on the mole at the base of his neck, and Younghyun lets out a low grunt that echoes through the room. He feels her proud smile against his skin.

The next few minutes are a blur, but then Bora moans and Younghyun snaps back to his consciousness. At this point they’ve somehow found their way to his bed and she’s in her lacy black bra straddling his waist and it takes all of Younghyun’s willpower to take a deep breath and pry Bora off of him. “Wait… wait, stop.”

Bora whines in annoyance and looks at him pointedly with an impatient _what?_ painted across her face. She crosses her arms across her chest and it makes her breasts look even more gorgeous and _fuck, she’s hot._

“Let me go down on you,” Younghyun blurts out before he even realizes what he’s saying. 

“Huh?”

“Please?” He meets her eyes then, resolutely, and he knows she understands: Whatever it is between them begins and ends tonight, and he intends to make the most out of it. No reservations. No strings attached. No romantic emotions at stake. Just farewell sex between two temporary friends, but he’ll be damned if he doesn’t make it good for both of them.

He doesn’t need to ask again.

Younghyun stirs awake at some point, but the darkness in his room tells him that it’s still an ungodly hour to wake up. He turns his head and sees Bora beside him, snoring lightly. Her skin is soft against his side and her long, wavy hair is fanned across his pillow and he thinks she’s beautiful. The softness of the moment makes him hyperaware of the impermanence of all of this, of her. He traces the dots on her face with his fingertip and kisses each one afterwards. First on her right eyebrow. Then the one below her eye (his favorite, though she says she wants to have it removed). Then on her forehead. He lets his lips settle there, lingering for a few seconds like it’s going to make the memory last a little bit longer.

When he finally wakes up, the sun is shining brightly through his window and she’s already gone. All that’s left is her scent in his bed– a mixture of vanilla and smoke and sweat – and a short, handwritten note that says:

_Didn’t wanna wake you up. Remember what I told you last night, and thank you for letting me pass by. :)_

He reads the note several times and smiles. She’s right. Life has a way of sorting itself out; maybe it’s time to let it.

\- + -

**Author's Note:**

> fellow jazz bar enthusiasts come talk to me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/kimborararara)!


End file.
